David Sosa, Chair
WAG 316, Mailcode C3500, Austin, TX 78712 • 512-471-4857
Tim Button (Cambridge University)
Fri, February 10, 2012 • 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM • WAG 316
http://people.pwf.cam.ac.uk/tecb2/
Title: "Methodological Solipsism"
Abstract: Carnap's methodological solipsism aimed for a kind of philosophical neutrality: a neutral fundament agreed upon by all competing camps, that would ultimately dissolve the disagreements between those camps. Dummett's antirealism aimed for a different kind of neutrality: one which would provide us with a means to (re)assess the realism/antirealism debate. Both Carnap's and Dummett's projects faced serious technical difficulties; but this is not, I think, why they fail. Instead, both fail because they cannot prevent methodological solipsism (broadly construed) from becoming metaphysical solipsism (also broadly construed).
